I spent a day comparing knives

L

LostCause

Joined
Apr 1, 2022
Messages
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Apologies ahead for long post.

I was bored so I just decided to compare some knives. On this pic, I resharpened and washed them all except ESEE3 (which I did after snapping the photo).

Top to bottom:
ESEE3 in 1095
Fallkniven F1 in laminated VG7
Mora Robust in C100 steel (I guess)
BPS HK4 in D2 steel

They are all about same size so I decided to compare them at general tasks despite the fact they are made for different purposes. But here is how they compare according to my experience. 1 being best and 4 being worst.


Handle comfort:
1. Mora
2. ESEE 3
3. HK4
5. F1

Carving:
1. Mora
2. F1
3. HK4
4. ESEE3

Feather sticking:
1. F1
2. Mora
3. HK4
5. ESEE3

Cutting up veggies:
1. ESEE3
2. HK4
3. F1
4. Mora

Meat processing:
1. HK4
2. F1
3. ESEE3
4. Mora

Edge retention:
1. HK4
2. F1
3. Mora
4. ESEE3

Batoning smaller pieces (just for fun, I don't actually need to ever baton):
1. F1
2. Mora
3. HK4
4. ESEE3

Cutting copper wire:
Only ESEE3 took edge damage, other 3 knives didn't even lose the edge.


To make conclusion, I have to put down prices of how much these today cost here in Europe. If I was to go to store today and buy these, prices would be as they go:
1. ESEE3 - 150€ for knife without sheath, 175€ for knife with sheath.
2. F1 in VGWolf (VG7) - 160€
3. Mora Robust - 13€
4. BPS HK4 in D2 - can only be ordered online, costs between 50 and 60€ with shipping.

My thoughts are these:
1. ESEE3 has underperformed at the price point it goes for. Especially edge retention. Edge retention is significantly worse than all other knives I tested today. Not to mention that it doesn't perform very well at cutting wood while being marketed as survival knife. It at least works well on food. I guess it at least has the warranty going for it. But price is much lower in the US however, so I have to take that into consideration.
2. F1 had good performance on wood, did OK with food and held it's edge very well. My only complaint is that handle is not that comfortable during longer work or taking swings at something hard, and new locking sheath that it came with is just weird.
3. Mora Robust is killing it when it comes to comfort and performance working with wood. Also held it's edge fine. It only performed bad on food. But that's not it's intended purpose and for 13€ it is a bargain.
4. HK4 - fairly comfortable, was decent at cutting wood, really good at cutting food, especially meat and cartilage. It held it's edge really good.
 
I scored them by your placement, including cost, and they rank as follows:

Fourth Place: ESEE3 (27 pts)
Third Place: F1 (19 pts)
Second Place: HK1 (18 pts)
First Place (and my personal favorite): MORA!! (16 pts)

(I left out the wire cutting damage as the top three tied and the last place score was unaffected.)

Zieg
 
I like the Fallkniven the most simply for its convex grind, but yeah, that handle looks uncomfortable. Mora is hard to beat. Although Hultafors competes with the Moras. I have a small collection, few GKs in SK85 are the ultimate beaters, the OK1, OK4, a chisel knife and a couple in stainless. I am pretty happy with them.
 
LostCause said:
Mora is a no-brainer for the price. Only if you need something slicier or something for food, then HK4 becomes viable option.
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Yeah, I always give a new knife a shot at the kitchen prep, but when I first got my hands on the Mora Robust Pro, I knew it was a lost cause. Besides the thick blade and wedge like grind, that finger guard keeps the blade too far from the cutting board. If you're slicing potatoes, that Mora sends them flying across the countertop!

Zieg
 
If you really want to boost the performance of the Mora Robust, invest another few Euros and pick up the Mora Pro S. Same basic design as the Mora Robust but with a much thinner blade and stainless. Good for slicing and food won’t rust the blade. Between these two, you can literally do anything. I carry both in my pack

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kobold said:
I like the Fallkniven the most simply for its convex grind, but yeah, that handle looks uncomfortable. Mora is hard to beat. Although Hultafors competes with the Moras. I have a small collection, few GKs in SK85 are the ultimate beaters, the OK1, OK4, a chisel knife and a couple in stainless. I am pretty happy with them.
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Fallkniven performs well overall, especially regarding the grind and steel performance but handle and sheath could be improved.

I had Hultafors GK in the past, but I gifted it away as I preffered the Mora handle and grind (hultafors was extremely obtuse).
 
rlewpolar said:
If you really want to boost the performance of the Mora Robust, invest another few Euros and pick up the Mora Pro S. Same basic design as the Mora Robust but with a much thinner blade and stainless. Good for slicing and food won’t rust the blade. Between these two, you can literally do anything. I carry both in my pack

View attachment 2426174
Click to expand...
This will most likely be my next purchase. This and the Robust that I already have can cover pretty much all of my needs for fixed blade of that size.
 
I was told by FK in a mail that the original F1 is comming in Elmax this summer. Next knife on my list. 👑
 
Hey thanks! You just saved me some coin. I was just about to pull the triger on an esee 6 in 1095. I think I'll keep looking.
 
scorpnsnake said:
Hey thanks! You just saved me some coin. I was just about to pull the triger on an esee 6 in 1095. I think I'll keep looking.
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If you are in Europe, you can even get LionSteel M5 in 3V for less money for example.

But in all honesty for bigger knife - softer HT might be OK. I just still think it's too soft. I had ESEE6 too and I traded it. It didn't hold an edge well and I hated that swell in the handle. Just saying.
 
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